


Spinning Their Own Fate

by Reflected_Skies



Category: Thor (Movies)
Genre: Future Fic, Gen, Thor (Marvel) is a Good Bro
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-21
Updated: 2018-05-21
Packaged: 2019-05-09 14:19:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,001
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14717715
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Reflected_Skies/pseuds/Reflected_Skies
Summary: Loki is late returning from his latest misadventure. Thor goes to find him, and shapes their past.





	Spinning Their Own Fate

**Author's Note:**

> This is set way in the indefinite future.

It had taken Thor considerable work to get here. World-walking was never one of his skills, although he had picked up a few tricks over the years. The magic-users he had gone to for help had nothing to offer but guesses. In the end, it had been Loki’s notes, written in the margins of an old book about the structure of the realms, that had led Thor here.

The last time he had seen Loki, Loki had promised to return within the month. It had been 6 months now, and Thor was worried. True, there had been times when it had taken Loki longer to come home, but that had been Loki avoiding Thor, something the brothers had long since moved past. If Loki walked among the living, he would have contacted Thor by now.

Now Thor stood on a dirt floor, space open behind him, a single wall of bark, slightly curved, before him, and darkness above. He could hear a stream trickling, the rustling of leaves in a breeze. There was light, but he could not identify the source. There were women of all species here, spinning, weaving, walking to and fro, talking softly with each other. None acknowledged Thor.

He walked closer, looking around, but he could not see any indicator of rank, nothing to tell him which woman might be in charge. The snippets of conversation he overheard were not in a language he could recognize.

He walked to the nearest woman and bowed. “I am Thor. I seek my brother.”

“There are no brothers here,” she said. She pointed to the left. “You will find a spinner who can answer your questions over there. She will be of your brother’s kin.”

Thor thanked her and went in the direction she had indicated. He walked for some time, until he was out of sight of the place he had arrived and the sound of the stream had faded entirely. He passed many more women, but none were species he knew. Finally, he saw a group of women spinning. One was noticeably taller than the others, even sitting, and her skin was blue. Thor went up to her and knelt. “I am Thor. I beseech thee, give me word of my brother.”

“You have no brother,” she answered. “A sister only, clawing at the walls of her cage.”

Thor’s stomach plummeted and he felt ill, dizzy and nauseous. “Hela lives? And Loki? He always returns.”

The woman looked over at him, a faint frown on her face. “Loki Odinson? There are none with that name.”

“And what of Laufeyson?”

“Ah.” She looked down at her wheel. “A thin thread, already nearing its end. Two pleas, and none who will answer them. Will you?”

“Speak plainly, please.”

She smiled, eyes glowing white. “Caution was a lesson hard learned, taught through loss and pain.” She stood, eyes returning to their normal red. She indicated he should rise as well, and led him away from the wall, towards the yawning darkness. “I shall show you, and you will decide.” She rested her hand on his shoulder and between one step and the next, they stood on Jotunheim. The snow was piled high, the wind howling, but he did not feel the cold, and he walked on top of the snow as if he weighed nothing. The Norn led him to a tall structure, and as soon as they entered the door, Thor could hear crying, a baby’s wail and a woman’s sobs. A frost giant stood at the front of the temple, holding a small bundle, and a woman knelt at his feet. She was bundled up in furs, her face hidden. Thor and the Norn walked closer.

“Please,” the woman begged, “give him to me. We’ll leave, you’ll never see us again, I promise.”

It was Laufey, Thor realized now that they were closer, surprised he still remembered Laufey’s face after all this time. The woman’s face was pale, nearly white, her features delicate. A Vanir or Aesir, Thor decided—the two were difficult to tell apart. He and Loki had long since determined Loki was only half-Jotunn, and theorized his mother was a captive taken when the Jotunn raided the other realms. It seemed their theory was correct, Thor thought, as Laufey kicked the woman away. 

He held the squalling infant up. “I offer this child, my flesh and blood, to any who listen. Take him, and give me one last strike at Odin, one moment when he is vulnerable, unprotected by his soldiers!” With surprising gentleness, he laid the infant on the altar and stepped back.

The woman rose to her feet, running forward, but Laufey caught her by the back of her clothes, yanking her hood down and revealing black hair. He dragged her away while she screamed. “I curse you! I curse any who would take my son! He will bring grief and pain to whoever takes him, and to the one who gave him up! May you die at your son’s hands, you bastard!”

Laufey backhanded her with a snarl, and she fell silent, clearly dazed. He dragged her from the temple. Thor could hear battle outside, his father’s army approaching. “What becomes of her?” he asked.

“In a few minutes, she will recover from that blow, and begin cursing Laufey anew. He will slay her, frightened that her curse will carry some weight. But it is already spoken. The child must die here, or both father and mother’s prayers must be granted.”

Thor huffed a laugh, although even with all the time that had past and dulled the pain, it was not funny. Loki might find it so, though. “They already have been.”

“No,” the Norn said as they approached the altar. “The child’s thread is fraying, and soon will snap.”

Thor shook his head, looking down at his brother. He was so small, but making plenty of noise, kicking and waving his tiny fists as tears froze on his cheeks. “Odin will come...”

"If the child is to be saved, it will be one who has knowingly agreed to his destiny, to aid in bringing it about. Will you allow Laufey to strike at your father when he is defenseless? To allow this infant to bring grief and death?”

“I already have,” Thor answered. He bent over, brushing his lips over Loki’s forehead. “I will protect you, as best I can. I will give you a home whenever you need it. I will love you, and forgive you, and welcome your return.” He straightened, and addressed his next words to the Norn, although he did not look away from his brother. “How do I bring Odin here?”

“You move through this time unseen, but your words shall whisper in his ear like his own thoughts. Odin is half a mile away and closing quickly.” Her eyes glowed faintly. “You may make another choice. Do not think you are merely submitting to your fate, that your past must be his future. At this moment, in this place, all that you remember is no more than a possibility. I cannot tell you what will happen if you walk away, beyond that the child shall die here and his father’s prayer be unanswered, his mother’s curse unfulfilled.”

Thor inclined his head in a single nod, and walked out of the door, towards the sound of approaching horses. He saw his father, his face bloody, his horse’s sides heaving. Thor paused, staring at his father, breath catching in his throat and his eyes stinging. It had been so long. He let himself simply look for a moment, but he did not have time for old grief. Thor strode forward, unhampered by the snow. “Go to the temple,” he shouted. “Take what you find back to Asgard.” He watched as Odin dismounted, followed him back into the temple. “Love him,” he pleaded as Odin picked up Loki. “He’s just a baby. Raise him as your own.” Odin rearranged the blanket, covering Loki’s bare torso, and held him close, pulling his cloak around to hide the infant, and walked from the temple. Thor sighed, shoulders slumping, and the world blurred for a second. He blinked, and found himself back at the base of Yggdrasil, the Jotunn Norn sitting before a loom, humming softly as she wove.

She looked up as Thor stepped closer. “So you have returned. Took you long enough.”

“I—how long was I gone?”

She shrugged. “I pay little attention to such things.” She moved the shuttle back and forth, threads stretching to the loom from nowhere, appearing from nothing. His tutors had warned him against trying to interfere with the Norns, told him of the futility of asking for mercy. Thor had disregarded their advice readily enough; maybe if they had warned him how confusing dealing with the Norns would be, Thor would have listened. Probably not, he admitted to himself, not with Loki’s life at stake, but at least he would have been better prepared. He stepped closer, seeing that one of the threads was actually two twisted together, green and red, although in places only one color was visible. “Is it normal for two threads to be so entwined?”

“What did you think would happen, when you tied Loki’s life to your own?”

Tentatively, Thor touched the threads with one finger, stroking them so lightly they barely bent under his touch. “Is this a knot?”

“I was in a hurry,” a voice said from behind him, “and had little knowledge of spinning. Or did you think it was your life alone, keeping us both alive?”

Thor spun, a grin starting that only grew when Loki stepped into view, looking as he had when Thor last saw him, in his own time, only cleaner and uninjured. He strode forward, catching his brother in a hug, and rejoiced, as he always did, when it was returned. “You’re late.”

“I was unavoidably detained.” Loki pulled back, and Thor let go. “So you have finally learned the truth.”

“How long have you known?”

Loki waved a hand. “A century or two. That knot you found was hardly the only time I had to prevent your thread from breaking.” He frowned for a second. “Or perhaps will be. Time moves strangely here.”

“Is that why you learned to spin? I wondered.” Thor shook his head, mock chiding. “Taking over from the Norns is cheating, Loki.”

“You are just jealous you did not think of it first.”

“But I acted first, in the end.”

Loki narrowed his eyes. “That does not count.” Before Thor could argue, Loki stepped around him and bowed to the Norns. “As always, it has been a pleasure to look upon you again, and I thank you, for tolerating our presence. We shall leave you to your work now. Thor.” He took Thor’s arm, turning him around and half-dragging him, two steps and they were back home, before Thor could make his own farewells.

Loki let go, stretched and rolled his head. “Always disconcerting,” he murmured, “but it is good to be back.”

Thor thought of what he had learned, of the entwined and knotted threads, the notes Loki had left (for him to find?). He wondered if this meant they both had to die together for it to finally be permanent, if it was even possible for them to live separate lives, and the chances of getting a straight answer from Loki. The last one was the only question he knew the answer to, so he slapped Loki on the back. “Welcome home. Let’s get drunk.”

Loki grinned back. “An excellent idea.” But then his smile faded, and he looked solemn. “Was it worth it? Everything I have cost you?”

“Yes.” Thor did not hesitate in his answer, did not doubt or regret his choice. He slung an arm around Loki’s shoulders and the two headed out, moving together easily, their paces so well matched that their footsteps sounded like a single person. 

END


End file.
